grotte du Lazaret

Lazaret Cave has yielded a large mammal bone assemblage, dated to the Upper Middle Pleistocene (isotope stage six), and associated with an abundant lithic material transitionary between the Acheulian and Mousterian, as well as a few human remains. A taphonomic and archaeozoologic study was carried out in order to assess the quantity of bone material introduced by humans, and to determine the subsistence methods and the patterns of carcass exploitation.

Marie Liouville , Patricia Valensi , Eleni Pasthi
In order to characterize the morphological variations of the red deer during middle and upper Pleistocene, we intend to establish a link between biometrical data and a palaeological approach.

The UA 25 archaeostratigraphic unit of Lazaret cave is an exceptional Acheulean occupation level with abundant lithic and bone material and reveals a clear organization of activities carried out in the cave. In this paper, large mammals are studied from an archaeozoological perspective using a variety of methods of analysis, in order to increase our understanding of the behavior, way of life and environment of the Lazaret Acheuleans. During one autumn hunting episode, twenty-three red deer, six ibexes, three aurochs and one roe deer were slaughtered. For the most part, it appears that Anteneanderthals processed these carcasses inside the cave. They then left more than 600 bone remains piled into a heap with a diameter of 80 cm in the middle of the cave. The study of diversity indexes points towards selective red deer hunting, independently of the prey available in the environment. On the other hand, as far as the deer is concerned, hunted animals do not seem to have been selected within the herd on the basis of factors such as age or sex. The presence of the ibex, the second most hunted species at the site, seems to be directly linked to climatic conditions and its relative abundance in the environment.

Morgan Hassani , Patricia Valensi , Sharada C. Visweswara , Véronique Michel , Khalid El Guennouni , Henry de Lumley
Small Acheulean-Mousterian ungulates from Lazaret Cave (Nice, France) – Anthropogenic or carnivore accumulations?
La grotte du Lazaret renferme des dépôts archéologiques contemporains du passage de la culture acheuléenne au moustérien, rapportés au stade isotopique marin 6 (MIS 6). Les fouilles archéologiques ont permis d'individualiser vingt-neuf unités archéostratigraphiques qui témoignent d'installations récurrentes, de plus ou moins longue durée, par des groupes d'Homo heidelbergensis. Ces hommes chassaient préférentiellement le cerf et le bouquetin, retrouvés en abondance dans toutes les unités. En comparaison, certaines espèces, comme le chamois et le chevreuil, sont faiblement représentées. Nous présentons dans cet article les résultats des analyses archéozoologiques et taphonomiques conduites sur les ossements de ces petits ongulés afin de déterminer leur origine dans la grotte. Dans certaines unités, une chasse anthropique de type opportuniste est mise en évidence, expliquant la faible proportion de ces espèces sur le site qui5521/# 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits réservés. présentent peu d'apports nutritifs pour subvenir aux besoins du groupe. Un approvisionnement par les carnivores est également observé ; il est effectué essentiellement par le loup, dont les restes sont abondants dans les unités supérieures. # 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits réservés. Abstract Lazaret Cave contains archaeological deposits contemporaneous with Acheulean and Mousterian cultures, corresponding to marine isotopic stage 6 (MIS 6). Archaeological excavations at the site revealed twenty-nine archaeostratigraphic units with recurring, relatively long occupations by Homo heidelbergensis groups. These groups preferentially hunted red deer and ibex, which were abundant in all the units. In contrast, other species, such as the chamois and the roe deer, are poorly represented. In this article, we present the results of the archaeozoological and taphonomic analyses of small ungulate bones in order to determine how these remains were deposited in the cave. Opportunistic anthropogenic hunting is brought to light in some units, explaining the low proportion of these species at the site. In addition, these species only provide low nutrient levels for the needs of the group. The accumulation of remains by carnivores is also observed, mainly by the wolf, which is abundant in the upper units.